Chapter 647 Chaos
Searching through her memories, Shiro remembered the white haired woman who wore a black dress similar to her. She stood in the middle of a large hall with motes of light that danced around her.
Before she left the space, the woman had turned to her and mouthed the words, good luck young one.
"Yes, that was my mother. Her identity is very special as you can guess due to the fact that she is Chaos. The fact that she has blessed you means that you are truly this universe's final lifeline." Nyx smiled.
"What did she bless me with exactly?" Shiro asked curiously.
"Retention of memories and the fusion of abilities from your past life. Especially one that is similar to her own powers albeit a little different. In other words, the power of creation and balance. Right now, her role is more of a balancer of the system and she makes sure that everything is in order. However, if she continues to do so, the universe is doomed to reset over and over again. Hence why she made an exception for you who obtained a power that bore resemblance to her own. Creation and balance Your power creates but you must find a balance in your creation or else the creation fails." Nyx chuckled.
"That's why you still have the Nanomancer class despite it being an anomaly from a different Garden and your body not being the same."
"So Chaos was the cause of my 'reincarnation' I suppose or rather, retention of memories. Otherwise I would have continued to live as Kuromi." Shiro sighed.
"Not quite. You would not have continued to live as Kuromi since the lifeline was broken. What my mother did was instead deploy a failsafe to prevent the final lifeline from truly disappearing. Every time a person reincarnates, their slate is wiped clean. Those who were mass murderers could become saviours in their next life. You're no different. You're not Nytri nor are you Kuromi. You are a whole new entity who retained her memories of the last two lives that she lived. Hence why you were registered with a new name by the system since you're someone new." Nyx explained.
"Though to make it so that you could actually obtain your past powers and memories, my mother had to suffer a little hence why she was locked up in the timeless vault. I'm guessing that you've seen the motes of lights right? Those are the anomalies that she needs to solve and some of them stretch out into the past. One of the anomalies is your old pal Aekari who was turned into an anomaly by the Light Goddess who coincidentally, was also one. While she cannot change what had happened in the past, she can change the future. Kuromi should have been the one but Aekari met her way too soon due to what you have done in your past life when you were affected by Aekari's anomaly. Like a domino effect, the Light Goddess corrupted Aekari and Aekari changed your fate. Therefore, she had to make a second backup plan which is you, Shiro." Nyx gestured at Shiro who continued to stay silent.
"For your third life, my mother had to make sure that you can become a proper lifeline so she infused some of her powers into you. Every time you evolve, your limit is increased and the things that you can obtain within that class exceeds what is counted as the 'norm'. In one way, I suppose you are now a primordial like me."
"So you're telling me that everything I've obtained is due to Chao's help and not my own efforts?" Shiro looked down at her hands.
"Not quite. You can't clap with one hand after all. You need efforts from both sides and the fact that you have achieved power of this level at your current stage astounds me since this was much higher than what my mother had expected." Nyx shook her head.
"I see…"
"Anyways, I can't tell you any more about mother since I am also bound by the system so let's talk about your trial." Nyx smiled.
"Mn, so what do I have to do? You said that the last trial that you gave me was just a taster no? So what is the trial going to be this time?" Shiro asked.
"This trial is a little special since the rewards are rather amazing."
"What rewards are we talking about?"
"I cannot say but trust me, even I'm a little jealous but it unfortunately doesn't fit me so I can't obtain it." Nyx shrugged.
"Oh? A reward that even the goddess Nyx is jealous of? You have my undivided attention." Shiro chuckled.
"Exactly. Now then, the trial will happen in a different realm. The forgotten realm to be exact, and the time is similar to the dilation you feel in dungeons. A day in there is an hour out here. What you do in the forgotten realm affects your grade. As you can guess and the clear conditions vary but the base clear condition is for you to obtain the divinity of the primordial gods. Gaia, Ouranos, Tartarus, Chronos, and me, Nyx. Just a note for you, in the forgotten realm, you cannot use the power you have obtained in the outside world and only the power you obtain inside. Thankfully for you, there are towers that represent a god's divinity within this realm. Each tower will grant you a god's power should you succeed. However, you must remember that a person can only hold so much power in their body so once you reach a certain amount of skills, you cannot obtain anymore. Your limit is 6 powers while a normal being in the forgotten realm can only have 3." Nyx smiled.
"Wait, so that means I can only get one power before the rest have to be the primordial ones?" Shiro widened her eyes.
"Yup. For great power, one must face an equal amount of adversity. Good luck Shiro, I do hope that you'll succeed." Nyx smiled as a giant tier 8 magic circle expanded beneath Shiro, stretching across the horizons of Tartarus.
Before Shiro could even say anything, her body flickered away.
###
Blinking her eyes, Shiro clicked her tongue in annoyance and sat up. Looking around her, she found herself in a rather worn out bed with a rugged cover that had seen years of use. The colour of the cover was faded and the edges were ripped.
To her side was a makeshift table that had rocks supporting one of the legs so that it didn't tip over.
Getting off of the bed, Shiro found her body devoid of strength and a gut wrenching hunger assaulted her mind.
'For f*ck sake. Of course I have to start in this condition.' Shiro thought to herself and looked down at her dress. Her smile couldn't help but twitch as she was essentially wearing a potato sack with holes cut out for the head and arms.
Swiping her hand out, she checked the current trial.
[God Trial – The Forgotten Realm.]
In the forgotten realm, power is represented by the power of gods which you obtain. When a person reaches the age of 18, they are to undergo their first trial to obtain a divinity which belongs to one of the gods. If they refuse, they cannot attempt any gods' trials after this year. Should you obtain a weak divinity, you are doomed to live an average life. But if you decide to go for a powerful divinity, the chances of you losing your life is great. Many have trained for this day so that they may ascend to become one of the five great warriors who have cleared the primordial trials.
Current Scenario: You are an orphan raised in the nameless church located in the countryside city of Trai. You were quiet in your upbringing and your nature has caused you to be excluded from making proper friends. Today is your birthday and it also represents the time where you need to complete a gods' trial.
(Basic knowledge of this village and surroundings has been implanted)
Clear Condition 1: Obtain the 5 primordial divinities.
[ - ] Nyx, Primordial Goddess of the Night
[ - ] Gaia, Primordial Goddess of the Earth
[ - ] Ouranos, Primordial God of the Sky
[ - ] Tartarus, Primordial God of the Underworld
[ - ] Chronos, Primordial God of Time
There may be more clear conditions depending on the actions that you choose.
Looking at the display, Shiro scratched her head and noticed how rough her hair was. The ends were damaged and the pristine white colour was now tainted by browns.
"Goals of the day, food, a bath, proper clothes, research on which trials I can do." Shiro muttered.
Looking around the room, she tried to find anything that can be used as a weapon for now. Unfortunately for her, the best that she could find was a small rusted fruit knife with a dull edge.
'That'll do for now.' She thought to herself.
Glancing out of the hole in the wall, she could see five large pillars in the distance and understood her objectives.
'Let the trials begin I suppose.' She thought with a grin and walked out of her room.